High-density relax-transport system

ABSTRACT

A high-density relax-transport system, intended especially to equip the useful space of means of transit and transport, fundamentally characterized by its arrangement in this space, in a compact interlocking structure, of a certain number of individual berths. These berths are formed of couchettes whose flexible and/or rigid bottoms have an at least transversally concave general shape and whose widths decrease advantageously toward the extremities, particularly from the hips to the feet. The said interlocking is so conceived that each couchette berth is limited to the functional volume required to permit the occupant&#39;&#39;s movements, with a generous space allowance in the torso and head region.

United States Patent [191 [111 3,784,989 [451 Jan. 15, 1974 LeGrand [76]Inventor: Pierre LeGrand, 98 Rue de Rennes,

Paris, France 22] Filed: July 10,1972

21 Appl. No; 270,164

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data 297/458, 468, 245, 244, DIG. 1;105/320, 314, 315, 316; 27/2, 7, 35; 206/46 FC, 65 R;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 104,485 6/1870 Morse 105/3203,124,389 3/1964 Mikan 297/458 376,629 l/l888 Braund 27/7 Kerr 297/D1G.l

1,702,827 2/ 1929 Gustaveson 297/244 2,480,322 8/1949 Cozzoli 244/118 P3,241,661 3/1966 Zamzow et a1. 206/46 FC 3,515,267 6/1970 Rocca et a1206/46 FC Primary Examiner-Duane A. Reger Assistant Examiner-Galen L.Barefoot Attorney-William B. Kerkam, Jr.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A high-density relax-transport system, intendedespecially to equip the useful space of means of transit and transport,fundamentally characterized by its arrangement in this space, in acompact interlocking structure, of a certain number of individualberths. These berths are formed of couchettes whose flexible and/orrigid bottoms have an at least transversally concave general shape andwhose widths decrease advantageously toward the extremities,particularly from the hips to the feet. The said interlocking is soconceived that each couchette berth is limited to the functional volumerequired to permit the occupants movements, with a generous spaceallowance in the torso and head region.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures HIGH-DENSITY lRElLAX-TRANSPORT SYSTEM Arelax unit, in particular the Relaxator sold in France by the firmMateriel Chirurgical Moderne, molds the body laterally, curves the back,and raises the head and legs slightly. This position rests the heart andrelaxes the nerves and muscles of the user, asleep or awake. But thespace the unit takes up has limited it, until now, to use in the home orin a spacious relaxation area.

The present invention extends its advantages to all restricted spaces,in transit or transport, by sea, land, rail, air or space, withaprofitable occupant density and good fluidity of internal traffic, bymeans of an ingenious vertical and/or horizontal head-to-footinterlocking of a series of individual cellular berths, whose bottomsare all relax surfaces.

Each berth, offering functional ease, is open on only one side, borderedby the access corridor, and closed at will by a sliding curtain. Thusundesirable personal contact and the foot fatigue of an upright positionare avoided. Furthermore, the body, firmly supported in its relax unit,withstands accelerations with comfort and shocks with safety. For thisreason, in a vehicle it is normally preferable to arrange the berthslongitudinally.

The flexible and/or rigid relax surfaces are formed, for instance, ofmolded plastic and/or of fabric stretched over a tubular frame; andcushions under the head, the back,or the legs adapt a single relaxcontour to various body conformations.

In the terms of the invention, the above-mentioned interlockingarrangement of berths saves space in three dimensions First, in length,since a relax unit is shorter than the height of its occupant.

Second, in height, since a first characteristic of the high-densityrelax transport system proposes an approximately vertical superpositionof berths parallel one to another, but of alternate orientation fromone,

level to the next, so that each occupant is head-to-foot with respect tohis immediate upper and lower neighbors.

This vertical stacking can equip vertical, sloping, or bulging surfaces.

This characteristic of the invention is essential, since the alternatelysuperimposed relax contours functionally increase the space available atthe head-and-torso end of each berth, at the expense of the feet.

Let us call the level" of a berth the lowest point of the relax contour,near the buttocks, and comfort height the difference between this lowpoint and the high point at the head of the berth. It matters littlethat these two points are not on the same vertical line, since comfortis appreciated in terms of the curvature of the torso in the relax unit.

For instance, in a practical numerical example, a space of 47 cm betweenlevels gives a comfort height of 80 cm, and makes it possible to fitfour layers in a vertical space of 250 cm; the two lower levels, at 30and 77 cm from the floor, are as easy to get into as ordinary seats, andthe two upper levels, at 124 and 171 cm, can be reserved for peakperiods. In comparison, a railroad car of the same height has only threelevels of flat couchette berths; the comfort height is 65 cm, it is notpossible to sit up, and the berths are uncomfortable despite theirthickness. And only the bottom couchette is directly accessible.

Third, in width, since, according to a second characteristic of theinvention, preferably applied with the first, the berth relax contourshave, in plan view, a generally trapezoidal shape. They are arranged twoby two, head-to-foot, at least in part, and at the same or a similarheight, so as to be inscribed, still in plan view, in a preferablyrectangular outline. For instance, two relax units allowing 60 cm at thehead and 30 cm at the foot have a total width of cm, instead of cm.

Furthermore, local differences in height make it possible for eachoccupant to extend an elbow under his neighbors leg.

Together, these two characteristics give a relaxcell in the form of arectangular parallelepiped, in which each berth is basically a truncatedpyramid set on its side, whose edges are curved, according to the Irelax contour, whose bases have down a large side at the head and shortat the foot, and whose bottom and top are the two superimposed, inversetrapezoidal relax contours.

This shape analogy is only approximate, inasmuch as the berths are incontact along shared complementary skew surfaces to use the fullavailable volume, and inasmuch as the two berths at the same level arepartially offset so as to provide an additional personal space at thehead of each berth.

A third characteristic proposes arranging a longitudinal series ofrelax-cells so as to form, through the continuity of their honeycombstructure, one or several cell-beams which can contribute to vehiclerigidity. And a fourth characteristic, that one or more of thesecell-beams can provide internal support to the seams of the longitudinallobes of an oval-section pressurized aircraft fuselage.

The four figures enclosed are illustrations of the practical applicationof this technique.

FIGS. 1 et 2 represent a relax-cell in plan and in elevationrespectively.

FIG. 3 is a scheme of the volume of the typical berth.

FIG. 4 is a partial section view of the upper portion of a high-capacitypressurized aircraft fuselage, showing support of the lobe structure.

FIG. 1 shows a pair of trapezoidal relax berths l and 2 in head-to-footarrangement, separated by a partition segment 3. These relax units areslightly offset longitudinally, and the assembly fits into rectangle 4,flanked by corridors 5 and 6. This pair of relax berths corresponds toeither the first or the third level of FIG. 2. The second and fourthlevels would give, superimposed on FIG. 1, a mirror-image head-to-footarrangement, with a separating partition segment 7, shown dotted. Theseplane segments 3 and 7 are connected by skew surfaces, so as to form acontinuous partition, within the relax-cell structure, completelyisolating the occupants one from another. This partition contains acentral vertical member 8, which can support acessories, such as a smallfolding table.

In FIG. 1, the lightly-shaded areas indicate the space saving 9 that dueto the relax contour, and 10 that due to the head-to-foot structure,compared to flat, parallel couchettes.

FIG. 2 shows the four foreground occupants, along corridor 5, on theircontour berths shown in heavy line ll,ll2,13,14; at the lowest level, anoccupant of the background group is shown on his unit 15, in theopposite orientation to II. And in FIGS. 1 and 2 can be seen an elbow 16or 17 extended under the leg of the occupant of the neighboring berth.

There are two essential combinations: first, that of contour 23 withcontour 49 which provides the large torso volumes l8,19,20,2l,and,second, that of the lower leg and ankle contour 22 with the backcurvature 23 which allows excellent freedom of movement for the legs,despite the limited height available at this location.

The longitudinal offset position of the berths provides personal storagespaces, shown in darker shading on the plan view, as 24 for berth 1, and25 for berth 2. In the elevation view, the corresponding shading showsthe spaces available for the more distant group, as 26 for the occupantof berth 15.

The access ladder for the two upper layers of berths is not shown, andmay be, movable, on the opposite side of the corridor, or pivoting atthe end of the relaxcell.

The relax-cell is braced by 27 and 28 lower, and 29 and 30 upper,horizontal members, and by the continuous partition 3 and 7,structurally bound to the vertical partitions 31 and 32 and to the upperand lower cell plates. Cross-braces 33,34,35 and 36 further strengthenthe structure.

In an aircraft cell-beam, the vertical partitions 31 and 32 can becurved forward, in the direction of motion, for better stress resistancein the event of a crash.

At the bottom of FIG. 2, the double shading 37 shows the enclosed,shared baggage space.

FIG. 3 shows the principle of individual berths, which fit exactlyagainst other analogous and complementary berths, so as to form arelax-cell. To simplify this presentation, the longitudinal offset andthe individual baggage spaces are not shown, though the otherindications are carried over from FIGS. 1 and 2.

This berth is bounded: first, above and below, by two relax contours 11and 12, in head-to-foot arrangement; second, at the extremities, by twoend panels, 38 at the head and 39 at the foot; and third, laterally, byside surfaces,3, a partition shared with the unit behind, and 40, shownshaded, opening along the near side onto the corridor 5.

This relax-cell has a wide range of applications:

At first, as a container between two corridors, in a small transportvehicle for workers during the week, for excursions weekends, for longerdistances during long vacations, or indeed in transport helicopters.

But generally, it can also be used in the form oflongitudinal cell-beamsin a railroad car, in an overland bus, or in an aircraft of one or moredecks.

FIG. 4 shows two three-level cell-beams of head-tofoot relax berths(shown as 50 and 51) above floor 43 and bounded by corridors a; thecell-beams are designated 41 and 42. These cell-beams support threesmall upper lobes 44,45, and 46, which ovalize the section and increaseits capacity, by separating two main semicircular lobes 47 and 48.

In these continuous cell-beams, relax can at intervals be replaced byintercorridor passageways, or by service facilities such as toilets orstorage areas.

This relax-transport system can thus be adopted for its comfort, itssafety, its light weight, and/or its large, variable capacity and henceits economy.

Possible applications are by no means limited to the examples given.

What I claim is:

1. A high density relax transport system for the useful space ofpassenger transit and transport means comprising the arrangement in thisspace in a compact interlocking structure of a plurality of individualberths, said berths being relax couchettes having the shape of a relaxedperson with head and feet slightly raised, a plurality of said berthsbeing disposed in a vertical array one above the other, a plurality ofsaid berths being disposed in a horizontal array each parallel to andopposite to a berth in the adjacent vertical array and in head to footposition, the height of each berth with respect to the berth thereaboveincreasing from the foot to the head providing maximum free heightadjacent the bust and head of the passenger.

2. A system as described in claim 1, said berths in said structure beingjuxtaposed two by two and head to foot at substantially the same level,the sections of two of said berths in horizontal plan beingcomplementary and completely filling the horizontal space occupied bythe two berths.

3. A system as described in claim 2, each of said berths beingsubstantially trapezoidal in horizontal plan and two adjacent ones ofsaid berths in horizontal plane being juxtaposed to form a rectangularplan.

4. Equipement according to claim 3, including at least one relax-celloccupying generally a structured rectangular parallelepiped bounded bytwo corridors for lateral access to its berths, each cell being formed,on at least one level, by two trapezoidal berths juxtaposed head-to-footat similar height, inscribed in plan in the said rectangle, andseparated by a partition generally vertical, but inclined with respectto the sides of said rectangle, the orientation of the pairs of berthsand of the separating partitions alternating from level to level.

5. Equipement according to claim 4, in which several cells arranged inlongitudinal series form, through continuity of structure, at least onelattice beam contributing to vehicle rigidity.

1. A high density relax transport system for the useful space ofpassenger transit and transport means comprising the arrangement in thisspace in a compact interlocking structure of a plurality of individualberths, said berths being relax couchettes having the shape of a relaxedperson with head and feet slightly raised, a plurality of said berthsbeing disposed in a vertical array one above the other, a plurality Ofsaid berths being disposed in a horizontal array each parallel to andopposite to a berth in the adjacent vertical array and in head to footposition, the height of each berth with respect to the berth thereaboveincreasing from the foot to the head providing maximum free heightadjacent the bust and head of the passenger.
 2. A system as described inclaim 1, said berths in said structure being juxtaposed two by two andhead to foot at substantially the same level, the sections of two ofsaid berths in horizontal plan being complementary and completelyfilling the horizontal space occupied by the two berths.
 3. A system asdescribed in claim 2, each of said berths being substantiallytrapezoidal in horizontal plan and two adjacent ones of said berths inhorizontal plane being juxtaposed to form a rectangular plan. 4.Equipement according to claim 3, including at least one relax-celloccupying generally a structured rectangular parallelepiped bounded bytwo corridors for lateral access to its berths, each cell being formed,on at least one level, by two trapezoidal berths juxtaposed head-to-footat similar height, inscribed in plan in the said rectangle, andseparated by a partition generally vertical, but inclined with respectto the sides of the said rectangle, the orientation of the pairs ofberths and of the separating partitions alternating from level to level.5. Equipement according to claim 4, in which several cells arranged inlongitudinal series form, through continuity of structure, at least onelattice beam contributing to vehicle rigidity.